"2007 will go down in history as the year Sun Microsystems gave up the reins of the Java platform, releasing it under an open source license to the Java developer community. In this article, Java developer Elliotte Rusty Harold predicts new directions for the Java platform, in everything from scripting to bug fixing to new syntax."

"If the Firefox browser were a car, it would be in the garage right now being souped up by an anxious group of gearheads. When Firefox 3.0 is released later this year, the open-source browser is likely to contain a host of new features, including offline support for Web applications and new bookmark and search features. Mozilla released the second alpha version of Firefox 3.0 earlier this month."

Various parts and applications of the ROX Desktop have been updated recently. Firstly, ROX-All 1.1 (a single archive containing launchers for most of the ROX applications) has been released; the main improvement is that it's now compatible with Ubuntu Edgy. Also, ROX-Filer 2.6 (the file manager at the core of the ROX desktop) has been released. Filer can be updated via the built-in update tool. Lastly, various important panel applets have been updated.

"The Fedora project is undergoing several changes before the release of its next version. In preparation for Fedora 7, which will fuse the Core and Extra software repositories, Fedora's developers are auditing the repositories for non-free and non-open software that doesn't meet the project's guidelines. Eventually, the project may change its package guidelines to only allow Free Software."

The Fedora project has released Fedora 7 Test 2 (6.91). New in this release are Linux 2.6.21rc1, GNOME 2.17.91, a brand new icon set, the merger of Core and Extras, fast user switching, and much more. See the release schedule for more information.

The European Union escalated its trans-Atlantic fight with Microsoft on Thursday, threatening new multimillion fines against the software maker over claims it fails to offer rivals a fair deal on licenses for helping servers work with Windows. In response, Microsoft charged that the treatment it receives from the EU is unmatched around the world and harmed Europe's efforts to become a thriving high-tech economy. The EU said Microsoft could face fines as high as euro3 million (US$4 million) a day, accusing the software company of trying to protect its interests by overcharging rivals for complete and accurate interface documentation - which would allow them to interoperate with Windows PCs and servers - on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.

"Once again FOSDEM is over and was a great success for GNUstep. Attendance by GNUstep developers/users was, if anything, even better than last year, and the combined GNUstep/OpenGroupware booth was well attended and looked very good with a selection of leaflets to give away, books to show NeXT and Cocoa relationships, and T-shirts for sale."

Simon Phipps writes on his weblog: "I'm in Berlin today opening the very first OpenSolaris Developer Conference. I'll be announcing that the new Get.OpenSolaris.org site that allows anyone in the world to order a kit containing DVDs of OpenSolaris distributions, documentation and source. With a nod towards the good folks at Ubuntu, Sun is sponsoring the kits so that they are completely free of charge, including global delivery. Hopefully this will mean even folks without the bandwidth to download DVD ISOs will be able to join the OpenSolaris community."

Hoping to get a jump on Google and other competitors, Adobe Systems plans to release a hosted version of its popular Photoshop image-editing application within six months, the company's chief executive said Tuesday. The online service is part of a larger move to introduce ad-supported online services to complement its existing products and broaden the company reach into the consumer market, Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen told CNET News.com.

A modified version of the code for Windows Mobile 6, which Microsoft launched less than two weeks ago at the 3GSM mobile phone conference, has hit the Net. It's the handiwork of 'Kyphur', a moderator at the discussion forums on XDA Developers site, who has released a hacked version of the code for Windows Mobile 6, aka 'Crossbow'.

"In the world of operating systems, Microsoft Windows Vista is just a baby. It's just now toddling along on new systems being sold throughout the U.S. And, like a small child being dropped by the stork to new parents, it's available to older desktop PCs via Microsoft's download-to-buy program. Giving early adopters such easy, unfettered access to the somewhat untested OS was a bold move by Microsoft. The company had to know that people like those who work at PC Magazine would be among the first to test-drive this new installation option."

GNOME 2.18.0 RC1 (2.17.92) has been released. "This is the last unstable release before 2.18.0. We've all added cool features, important bug fixes, great translations, or shiny documentation during the past six months. And it'll be soon ready for public consumption. There's still one week before the hard code freeze, so it's not too late to fix this last bug you're ashamed of."

"As of today Magnussoft has started shipping the first Zeta 1.5 cd's to their customers. Although 1.5 is almost a month delayed the developers did add lot's of features in the last phase of development. These include an Abiword port, drivers for PCL6 and Radeon, and others. With 1.5 being shipped, Magnussoft also introduces 'MZSP' or Magnussoft Zeta Service Packs. MZSP's will be freely available in the future as downloads. To install MZSP's you will need to have your Zeta version activated, and they will only install on the most recent version. Alongside the MZSP's there is also an update application planned so you can keep your system up to date automatically."

Ubuntu developers are finalising preparations for the release of the next version - dubbed Feisty Fawn - of the popular Linux distribution in mid-April. Overnight, Ubuntu developer Tollef Fog Heen announced Ubuntu's main software repository had been frozen - with no changes allowed to the code - as developers got ready to issue a fifth major test version ('Herd 5') of the next version of Ubuntu.